


Pilot: Dragonborn

by KEBKEN



Series: Average [4]
Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Gen, Will I ever stop posting pilots? no, after thieves guild questline but beginning of the mainquest, beginning of the dragonborn dlc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-09 22:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15277515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KEBKEN/pseuds/KEBKEN
Summary: Someone wants Held dead. On his quest to find the man responsible, he stumbles upon old friends.___________I'm writing a few pilot oneshots for Held. This one is for the second arc of the whole story, the Dragonborn DLC.Please let me know what you liked/disliked in the comments!





	Pilot: Dragonborn

**Author's Note:**

> I have no beta reader and writing speech properly is hard for me so be aware there will be a few formatting issues. English is also not my first language so I will probably have overlooked a few grammatical mistakes. I apologize for that in advance! Sorry! 
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy it anyways!

**How sweetly they beckon**

 

When Held had finally arrived at the harbor of Windhelm, he felt annoyed as he usually did after walking through the Grayquarter. His hands were balled into tight fists, that made his veins and muscles twitch and bulge under the pressure. He strode with fast and controlled steps towards the Northern Maiden, the ship traversing between Skyrim and Solstheim. 

The sky had already turned dark, dawn was almost over. The small lanterns were the primary light source at the docks, that were only occupied by a few sailors at this hour.

As he got closer to the ship he suspected to be the Northern Maiden, he got sight of a Nord that had taken a seat on a dark brown wooden stool upon the bland vessel. 

“‘This the Northern Maiden?”, Held inquired as he began to board the ship as well. The blonde Nord raised his eyes from his bottle of mead as he took notice of the Elf.

 “That it is. “, he grumbled reluctant to answer. Held furrowed his brows as he unclenched his hands in an effort to calm down. Of course, something was up here. There always was. Couldn’t he just get a break from everybody’s problems just for once so that he could finally take care of his own? Was that truly too much to ask for?

 “I need a ride to Solstheim.“ Held explained. “Will that be a problem? “

“For you, yes. We will not be returning to Solstheim any time soon. Forget it.” The guy took a big gulp of his mead.

 “And why would that be? You are the captain of this ship right? “ The Altmer asked unimpressed as he crossed his arms and started tapping with his big feet impatiently. Not even the soothing sound of the waves were calming now. Now everything was just annoying. The wind whistling as it grazed the stone walls. An Argonian Sailor sharpening his pathetic dagger on an equally pathetic grind stone, it all was an annoying white noise to Held as he waited for the answer of the obviously now uncomfortable blonde Nord.

 “I am. Why are you asking? If you have no other business here just please leave. “

Held took two steps towards the sitting Nord while he explained.

 “I was attacked by Cultists who could only have arrived with your boat. How would you explain that, huh? “ Held was staring down upon the other man now. His hair had become loose from his tie on his way here and was partly falling in front of his eyes now.

His opposite gulped as he jumped up from his chair.

 “I had nothing to do with that! How could I have known that they were going to hurt anyone!? I cannot even remember how I got here!“ The man seemed to get more panicked as he went on.

 “Look, there has been something weird going on in Solstheim for a while. But after these weird masked guys came on my ship and made me loose whole days, I am not going back there. That was the final straw. “

Held stared the other down as he replied

“Yes, you are going back. You will be taking me to Solstheim. You owe me this. After all you are the reason someone tried to kill me.“ Maybe playing on the mans guilt would work?

 “I am sorry about what happened but I refuse to go back!“ Maybe not. But that was fine. Held was done talking. This was a waste of time.

 “I will not take no as an answer. These people are trying to kill me. You either help me or will turn out to be killed by me like they attempted to do to me. Are we clear?“

**—————-**

The voyage to the smaller Island had been uneventful. It felt like the first thing in weeks that had actually happened without a problem. And that made Held wary and worried as they docked on the pier in Raven Rock.

 “So here we are.“ The captain addressed the Elf, rubbing his hands together while doing so.

“I know we got of on the wrong foot“ he continued pleasantly surprising the yellow skinned male “ but I really hope you‘ll be able to figure out what in Talos name is going on here. For all our sakes.“

 “It’s fine.“ Helds eyes wandered to look upon the landscape of the island before him. “Whatever is happening here seems to be a problem that’s not only affecting me. I apologize for being so rough but I hope you understand why I did so.“

 While the scuffed Nord and Dunmer sailors docked the vessel, Held collected his belongings into his travel pack and made his way to the edge of the ship.

 As they tied the ship down and began preparing their own shipments that they had taken on their journey, A well-dressed Dark elf made his way towards them on the wooden pier to their right. Ge addressed the Captain after sparing Held a glance and was lost in conversation with the Nord after that.

 The in Bonemold Armor dressed guard on the gate to Raven rock were watching everyone intensely through their helmet slits, nothing escaping their notice. The guards here were different from those in Skyrim. To Held they always seemed better at establishing a grand aura of authority than the flimsy Guards of Skyrim but Held was sure that the big bone like armors and their calmer demeanor were a big part of that.

 Also, maybe the High Elf respected the Dark Elves a bit more than he did the Nords, considering their constant hostile attitudes towards the Altmer. But it’s not like anyone besides himself would ever know that.

 

———————

 

Ravenrock had stayed the same, even after the years. Maybe there was a bit more ash here and there but it had overalls stayed the same town as before. That’s what the brunette had discovered after setting foot on land for a few minutes.

 The market place to the left of the docks was somewhat busy considering how many people lived here in comparison to what Held had become accustomed to over the years in the Imperial City and now Skyrim too. He looked around and debated internally who to talk to first. He made his decision when his eyes fell on the blacksmith. A familiar face.

 Held relaxed his stance, having calmed down from the upsetting beginning of his trip hours ago and stepped towards the workplace of the buff blacksmith.

 “Mallory you old horse!“ He greeted the bald Breton with a grin. Glover Mallory turned his eyes away from the white armor he seemed to be working on, to spare a glance to the Altmers direction.

 “Look at that. Held. What brings you here you old sack of bones? I thought you ‘d stay in Cyrodiil for sure after you left all those years back.“ Glover replied with a raised brow, having recognized Held even with half his face hidden behind his leather hood. He set his work aside and completely turned around to talk to the Elf properly.

 Held nodded, putting his hands into the pockets of his leather breeches.

“Probably should have. But no. I ‘ve been in Skyrim for the last few Months. It’s gonna be a year soon, actually. In fact.“ The Altmer looked at Glover confused. „ I would have guessed Delvin would have told you about what has been going on with the guild recently? “

 Glover let out an amused laugh at the mention of his brother. He signed for Held to sit down and continued talking as the thief did so.

 “Delvin never sends me any letters. How is the idiot doing? He still hopelessly chasing after sweet Vex?“ The Mallory asked with a smile.

 “Quite well. Stuff happened so he Vex and Brynjolf are actually leading the Guild together now.“ Held explained with furrowed brows. Those three had always been a great team. It had been a good decision to not let a single person control the guild anymore. They had been well off ever since the trio had taken over. It truly seemed like everyone had gotten over what happened with Mercer by now.

 “HA! I knew the fool had it in him. Glad to know they’re doing well. Why are you here then? Getting your hands dirty for the guild?“ Glover questioned the Elf.

 Held shook his head, a few strands of his light brown hair swinging at the motion. “No. I am here to investigate something. “ He started to explain “Say, Glover, have you heard of the name Miraak?“

 Glover didn’t know.

 The Merchants didn’t know. The Guards didn’t know. But they all did, didn’t they? Something was just stopping them from remembering.

 “ No, I... Wait. Maybe. I don't know how I know that name..." That’s how all their answers started but then suddenly like a door was slammed shut they would say: "I... I'm not sure. I don't want to talk about this."

 

Something was up. And Held was going to find out what it was.

 

—————————

 

 

Meeting Teldryn was always a pleasure. Held could not remember a single time he did not enjoy his travels to Morrowind over the years. The landscape might have been rough but the attitude of the Dumner made the High Elf feel at home like Skyrim or the Imperial city couldn’t have. Most humans were nice, yes. But most of them lacked the subtlety and sarcastic edge that most elves had. And since Teldryn was indeed a Dunmer, that feeling of being comfortable was always there when they traveled together.

 The Retching Netch was still the same kind of a pleasant shithole it had been when Held had been here years ago. The smell of Geldis Sadris Sujamma was everywhere, mixed with the other ales and fresh food, it had made the air damp and packed with flavor. There were a lot of people occupying the few tables scattered around the Inn. This came as no surprise as the sun had started to set, painting the sky a warm red, signaling the end of the day.

 People left and right were talking, not really paying attention to Held as he entered the establishment quietly. No one noticed but the man he had come to see.

And there he was, claiming a whole table on his own while being completely clad in his reddish chitin armor like usual.

 Teldryn Sero was watching Held intensely. The corners of Held mouth lifted as he approached his Dunmer friend. One of his boney and scarred hands found their way to the top of his head to pull back the brown heavy hood of his thief gear that had hidden the upper half of his face until now.

 “So,“ Held began, as he took a seat opposite of Teldryn. “You come here often?“ He was leaning his head on his yellow hand that he had angled up on the table, looking straight into the goggles that were still hiding the eyes of the other man. Held could see the other man twitch, as if he was holding back a laugh.

 “Mhm,“ the other one hummed with his rough voice „ Quite often. I actually do live here in fact. But your arrival probably means that will be a thing of the past starting today, huh?“ He continued leaning towards the brown haired man. The Altmer could practically hear the amusement in the Dunmers voice.

 “That mean you’re willing to run away with me? I’m honored.“ Held was grinning back, taking a bottle of the Sujamma on the table and taking a big swing of it. As he slammed the golden bottle down on the table he addressed Teldryn a bit quieter. His brown strands of hair casting a shadow over his amber eyes in the light of the candles surrounding them.

 “A lot has happened since we last met my friend. And most of it isn’t good. I hope you’re ready to pick up that blade of yours and put it to good use.“ He pulled out a pouch of septims and pushed them towards his Mercenary friend. “ you‘ll want that.“

 Teldryn readjusted his seat and grabbed the purse slowly and looked inside.

“Wohoo that’s a lot of coin. You really are in trouble then.“ He took out a few coins and slapped them on the table without care. Then he stood up casually and put the coins into his own satchel.

“Let’s talk outside then. If I stay here any longer I will be the one retching“ He addressed Held as he made his way to the door, not looking back at Held who had quickly stood up to follow the Mercenary outside.

 

—————-

 

“Ravenrock has been my home for years but it’s still a shithole“ Teldryn said humorously to Held as they settled in the now empty and dark marketplace. The high elf had taken seat on a small stonewall while the Dunmer was standing at his side.

 “You think every city that isn’t Blacklight is a shithole you dipshit.“ Held answered jokingly before taking a deep breath and continuing, “Something is going on here on Solstheim.“ Held was looking at the ground intensely. He was resting his forearm on his lap and was sitting with his upper body bent forwards.

 Teldryn gave a noise of approval.

“Yeah, a lot of people have been disappearing, another load of people getting holes in their memories and then there are these weird masked guys running around in the mountains causing troubles for travelers.“ He was now looking towards the ocean. “But why would that interest you?“

 “Some of these masked cultists came all the way to Skyrim to kill me. Look at this.“ Held handed Teldryn the small piece of paper he had taken for the cultists corpse all those weeks ago. The Dark Elf had tensed up as he looked over the note in his hand. He readjusted his stance and turned towards Held to return the note in a swift notion. Held looked upon his opposite with curios eyes, waiting for a visible reaction from the other elf.

 “Miraak... That name.. haven’t I? No I don’t“  Teldryn tried to make sense before the Altmer abruptly interrupted him.

“Don’t bother, Teddy. No one can really remember where they heard that name. I asked almost everyone before I went to meet you. I think it’s some kind of magic, stopping everyone from remembering.“

 “Urgh, great.“ Teldryn muttered under his breath “Love it when someone uses magic on me without my notice. That’s freaky.“ then  he continued “but you asked others too? A whole city under magical influence like that? I suppose I am a bit worried that someone with powers like that is after my employer. No one pays me as well as you do and is a nice companion to boot. And by Azura we cannot have me loose that nice source of income now can we?“  Teldryn explained as Held smiled, his eyes twinkling in the light of the orange lanterns.

 “I can see how that could be a problem, yes. So, you’ll take the job?“ He inquired while jokingly stroking his beard with his left hand.

 “Sure.“ Teldryn replied „ It will be fun. Like old times.“

 “Nice. Now I only need a place to stay at.“  Held laughed. He was actually relieved that Teldryn had accepted his offer. The Dragonborn had become so used to traveling with a companion, be it Lydia, Marcurio or someone else from the Guild. But Held hadn’t told anyone about the assassination attempt from the cultists and had been purposely vague about his next destination. He had only made it clear to the guild and Lydia that he would be occupied for a longer time. And because of that he had come by himself. They all had enough to deal with on their own for now. They wouldn’t need to worry about the Elf too.

 Held was sure the Guild thought he was going away to recollect himself after what had happened with Mercer. They were probably right to a degree. Held really needed to move on and he was aware of that. But in Skyrim it had felt like a Shadow of Frey was always following him around.

 So maybe this would help him gain distance. Help him to move on from murdering his old lover. Well, a man could always dream at least. Held chuckled melancholically before the Dunmer addressed him again.

 

“My room at the Netch is big enough for two. Come on, let’s turn in for the night. I think we have a few busy days ahead of us.“


End file.
